Went here for an anniversary, and it was very fun! Beautiful building, and great to have this sort of place near the suburbs. Before dinner we tried 6 wines for $6 and it was fabulous! Our server at the bar was very nice and knowledgeable. 2/3 of the employees we dealt with gave wonderful service. Our waitress, however, was mediocre. Not bad but not good. I ordered the Margherita Pizza and my boyfriend ordered the Lobster. We also got Calamari and Bruschetta. Everything but the pizza was delicious! The crust of the pizza was floppy and wet, and the toppings were flavor-less. Thankfully we ordered tons of food, and I was very satisfied. I will definitely go back to Acquaviva, and I will just stay away from the pizza! read more

Suzanne, Ron, and the entire staff at Acquaviva were great to work with! Acquaviva is such a beautiful place with great food and wine. I chose to have our wedding here because you get SO MANY upgrades included in their base package that most places will nickel and dime you for. It is a family owned winery so they were great to work with. Suzanne, the event coordinator, was very easy to work with throughout the entire year of planning- very responsive to my emails, even meeting with us 3-4 times before hand. We did not meet our minimum amount of $ required because we had a smaller wedding, but the good thing was after all of the further upgrades we did, we could spend the rest one wine to go. Taking pictures at sunset in the vineyard was also a huge plus. If you have not been here, you should stop by this gem! I would highly recommend a wedding here. read more

Had my wedding here recently. Absolutely amazing. Cannot day enough good things about Suzanne, the food, and the ambiance. Suzanne was a please to work with during the planning process. Every question I had along the way was promptly answered. Would totally recommend this to a friend, and I wish I could relive the night! read more

We had the absolute best time having dinner here! It's a beautiful restaurant with a really relaxing atmosphere. The tiramisu cake is to die for! But what really made our visit so special was our server Nancy. She was so sweet and kind. I can honestly say that she gave us the best service experience we've ever had. Thank you Nancy, we'll definitely be back! read more

We had a private party here for work and it was just such a cool vibe , nice views, large space, the tour of the winery was a nice touch and I highly recommend a private event here and of course just dinner a must! Felt like your family's place that just wanted to make the event special for us. read more

Such a pleasant surprise! Literally a taste of Italy in the back roads of Illinois, what a treasure. Staff go above and beyond to make sure they have satisfied your need as a guest and so down to earth. The food is out of this world and hopefully more people step out of their comfort zone to make sure this stop is on the list! Found our spot for sure! read more

We had a larger party and the service was not good. They didn't offer us wine immediately and we waited so long that we just went to the tasting bar to get it. When they took our order they came back several times to confirm. Not all the food was served at the same time and some people were done eating before others even got their food. No offer for coffee at the end. It was nice they did separate bills but I don't think they prepared for it since they didn't know what anyone had ordered and it took 30 min to get it all figured out. Food was decent and hot when served. Had the chop salad which is enough for 4 -5 people and the Mushroom sausage pizza. Can share the pizza. Wine is good for local IL winery. Prices on bottles of wine were high. read more

The hostess was great, accommodated our party. Service was SLOW! A place where their service is slow so they sell more booze... we had kids with us, they didnt bring out the kids drinks until after they were done eating. I asked for cups with lids, they gave my 3 year old a glass, they left didnt come back. When we could get someones attention they said either we arent your server or we arent a server. The appetizers came out with our food. I had looked forward to going here for over a month, very disappointed. The food was good, but unfortunately the service was SO poor we wont be going back. read more

Just fabulous wine, food and ambiance!

Love love love! Great wine (definitely treat yourself to a tasting at the bar), delicious food (calamari app is sooo yummy), and excellent staff. Great spot for a celebratory dinner of any kind. You will have your choice of indoor or outdoor seating (both are lovely). It is wise to call in advance to be sure they aren't closed for a private event. read more

I've been wanting to try this place for quite awhile and after taking family over to Kuipers, this was so close it seemed like a great next stop. Unfortunately the tasting room was closed for a private event BUT we ended up in another building that had great places to sit, a wonderful shop with unique gifts. The owner was just delightful and were pleasantly surprised at how good the wines were. Our favorite was Bianco Bella. Definitely recommend stopping here! read more

Sitting in the dining room with party of 10 for my fathers birthday. Worst service any restaurant in the area. I am disgusted we are wasting his 65th birthday at this S hole. Food just showed up after an hour. Filet needs a sawsall to cut. Med rare means burnt as hell read more

Had a great afternoon visit. The facility is gorgeous and the wine was good for an Illinois winery. Bottles were a little expensive, but I imagine they have a lot of overhead. We had a salad and a pizza for three of us, and it was very fresh and authentic. The caesar salad was great. By the way, I had no idea the winery was a full service restaurant, but the entire building is mostly restaurant. The tasting bar is small and can handle around 10 people. Oh, and they do charge $5 for 5 tastings, but again the wine is good and the building was beautiful. Give it a try! read more

Great staff, service, environment, food! Just make sure to call or check their site for private events. Definitely coming back again! read more

Beautiful atmosphere, delicious wine and wonderful service. We did a wine tasting with Paul who was friendly, attentive and so much fun to chat with!! Loved every wine we tried. Can't wait to be back soon. read more

Been here 3 times and always a great experience. We did a wine tour and it was very informative. Had dinner all 3 times and everything was perfect. Best bake clams I ever had. We also been to their market next door. The women there are great. We always do a wine tasting. I also like the fact that all their grapes are grown there. Definitely will be back. read more

Awesome choice for Italian Date Nite! Cozy atmosphere, nice wine list, Excellent Service, Very Flavorful Satisfying Dinner ! Emilia Is So Personable! Thanks for Exceeding Our Expectations! read more

I've unsuccessfully tried for several years to get reservations on Valentine's Day to Aquaviva, but being a typical dude, I always wait a few days before Valentine's Day before I call. This time I made a reservation well in advance on New Year's Eve. Now I completely understand why this restaurant is so popular. The food was simply top notch. Rather than an appetizer, I had a shrimp bisque, a creamy smooth shrimp-based soup that had generous and large portions of shrimp. I love bisque and this exceeded my expectations. The price was $8.50. For my entree, I had Zuppa di Mare. Yes, I know, soup and soup for dinner, but the Zuppa di Mare was really special and I didn't really consider it soup. It featured mussels and clams in the shell, calamari, cod and shrimp in a mild spice red sauce served over linguini. The sauce had a very nice kick to it, but not too overwhelming. The sauce alone would have made a nice broth on a cold winter day. And, it was steaming hot--I do not exaggerate--I had to let my first bite of linguini cool a bit before taking a bite--which was an exercise in patience and well worth it. The portion? In a word: huge. I brought about half of it home. The price was $33.99. I'm not an architectural mavin, so I wouldn't do justice in describing the style, but it was interesting and unique. Also, there was a viewing area of the wine vats, which was pretty cool for me. Also, the dining area was very spacious, plenty of room between tables. Finally, the serving staff was great. Very attentive, offering suggestions and keeping the table bussed.We are coming back for Valentine's Day and this year I will be making my reservations next week. read more

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Yesterday my wife Jill, our friend Mary and I met at a new place called Acquaviva Winery in Maple Park located at 47W614 IL Route 38. There has been a vineyard here for several years and the winery itself has been under construction for a couple of years. We arrived right at noon and there weren't many people there. As we walked up the stairs we were greeted by a young man whose job appeared to be to open the door for us. Upon entering the winery we were immediately transformed to Italy by the ornately-detailed decor inside. The domed entrance reminded us of the ceiling in the Sistine Chapel. The columns resembled marble. The first impression was breath-taking. We were greeted and escorted past the wine-tasting area, the grand piano and the brick pizza oven. There is a terrace outside but we chose to sit inside as it was a bit humid outside. I was fortunate enough to be the person facing south so I had a view of the vineyard across Lincoln Highway which added to the Italian feel of the meal. We were given a basket of bread and individual dishes of dipping oil and what appeared to be freshly grated Parmesan (I thought it would have been a nice touch if they had grated it freshly at the table but this was lunch and maybe they do that at dinner time or maybe they did and I wasn't watching?). I am not much of a wine drinker and Mary, who is the most Italian person I know personally doesn't seem to be either. So Jill is the only one of us who ordered the wine. She had the Piacere (red) and she liked it very much..I think she had two glasses with lunch. They had a nice lunch menu and Jill ordered an artichoke pizza from their extensive pizza selections. They seemed to be kind of designer pizzas and she shared it with Mary and I as her pizza arrived well before our food. The waiter explained that the pizza arrived earlier because it's cooked in a different oven (the brick fire oven we saw upon entering). My thought would have been to maybe not put the pizza in right away so that the meals could have been brought out together. I ordered the baked artichoke hearts topped with mozzarella and Mary had a sandwich that looked like a Caprese sandwich with red peppers and a bowl of soup. We talked and shared our food and were there for quite a while. The place got very busy but that seemed, mostly, because there was a Porsche rally of some sort and this was a stop on their tour. Mary and I both initially ordered the Crab Cakes that were one of the specials of the day but were disappointed when the waiter came back and said "the chef isn't ready to make them yet." Then why were they mentioned as one of the specials? Jill's pizza was excellent and my baked artichoke heart dish was superb. I did not try Mary's sandwich as I think I filled up on the bread and dipping oil. In fact, at one point I asked for a second basket of bread. The waiter seemed put out by this. The new basket of bread was not warm and toasty like the first basket and it took longer to arrive than expected. It was clearly a different bread. I was willing to pay for the new basket of bread if that was the issue. After dinner we went and browsed through their store. They have wines made on the property, of course, and they had interesting food items and a very nice selection of cigars. We decided to do a wine-tasting. It was $6.00 each for six one-ounce pours (six different wines). We tasted three whites (Prairie Star, Bianco Bello and Brianna) and three reds (Vitino, Piacere and Frontenac). Jill loved the Vitino. She loves, and regularly drinks, a wine called Beaujolais Villages and this wine is a Beaujolais-style wine. Though I am not a wine drinker for some reason I want to be a wine drinker because of the romance of drinking wine. Jill says that "you just need to find a wine that suits your pallet." It's kind of a quest I guess. I did like the Prairie Star and Bianco Bello okay. The only thing that I found negative with the tasting is that the palette-cleanser (bread sticks) were stale. But, I am not normally a wine-taster and maybe that is by design? Overall the foods and the experience were fabulous. I did not find it expensive but other people have told us that they thought it was expensive. We were there for lunch and the others had gone there for dinner so maybe that is a different menu with different prices. I would recommend Acquaviva Winery for anyone who is looking to take a drive just a bit west of Route 47. The food is great, the scenery is amazing (especially for where it is located) and I found it moderately priced. There were the few glitches that I mentioned here but they are newly-opened and they are probably still fine-tuning. Bravissimo! read more

Went here for a function. We sampled the food, tried several wines and got a tour of the facility. Can't wait to come back! Excellent real estate, clean space, friendly staff, plenty of parking. read more

I visited Acquaviva with my parents and sister on Sunday afternoon. The building is beautiful, and we were warmly welcomed by the host. We had reservations, but arrived early to do a tasting. For $6, we were able to try three whites and three reds. The server asked us about our preferences, recommended wines to try, and was very informative about each of the wines that we tried. She also served us generous tastings! I enjoyed the Donna Mia and Fiore as they were both crisp, dry, and refreshing. I also tried the Vitino, Frontenac, and Don Giuseppe, and recommend all three for red wine lovers. After tasting, we had lunch. We each ordered our favorite glass of wine and bruschetta to start. The restaurant was not busy, our server was friendly and efficient, and our drinks and appetizers arrived quickly. My parents had the whitefish, which was cooked perfectly. My sister and I tried the pizza, which had a crispy thin crust and not too much cheese, just the way we like it! For the 4 of us, the bill was $110. We walked over to the market, which is on the lower level of the soon-to-be bed and breakfast. They sell wine-themed gifts, olive oils, and wine, of course. I bought a bottle of Donna Mia and a bottle of Don Giuseppe. The total was $42, more expensive than my local wine shop, but I was expecting that. I do wish that the tasting bar was larger. It was pretty crowded when we were there, and we had to wait about 5 minutes for a spot to open up. Other than that, our day at Acquaviva was wonderful, and I am looking forward to returning! read more

Five stars for the food one star for the service. I went to dinner with my boss today and had a wonderful experience. The food was delicious and tasty. Totally authentic Italian dinner. The atmosphere is very elegant. The service was not as good as I expected especially from the waitress . I would rate the food a ten but the service a 3 on a scale from 1 to 10. The waitress did not match the elegance of this restaurant. We waited about 20 minutes for our drinks there was no bar tender in sight. I still recommend this place for the food only they need to get the service more organized to match the excellence of there food. read more

Very nice place and delicious food . We had a winery tour and tasting which were great, and dinner was delicious and the portions were very generous . Will definitely go again. read more

Spent my 13th anniversary here, and was not disappointed. Food and wine were terrific, and people were great. We will be back! read more

I was here as a wedding shower guest, so I'm sure it's not the exact same experience as going there for a regular meal, but I had a GREAT time, so if you're ever planning a party or shower or something, I'd recommend it! The wine was good (especially the white, in my opinion), the gnocchi was delicious, and the place is big and it's so pretty outside. read more

Very disappointing. Service was extremely slow. It took 35 minutes to get a meat and cheese plate and it only had one kind of cheese. Wine was bland. The building is new and very nicely done. With this kind of service and food it will soon be the nicest 7-11 in the area. read more

It has been one year now since our daughter's wedding at Acquaviva!. The dust has settled from the wedding storm, and I sit down to reflect about our whole experience... We were looking for a venue that did not scream wedding banquet hall and wedding banquet food. Our philosophy is that many people pay an awful lot of money for mediocre food and assembly line wedding receptions. Acquaviva was our answer, and I give Acquaviva a five star recommendation. They met and exceeded our hopes and dreams. The venue is beautiful, unique, elegant, and the food is fabulous - delicious Itialian fare - a far cry from banquet food. Our wedding reception was large - 248 guests (about full capacity), and it is my understanding that ours was the first big wedding Acquaviva hosted. Vito, Joey and staff really out-did themselves in making our event special. They were conscientious, forthright and honest. (Save yourself some time and work directly with the decision maker - Vito.) The staff was accomodating and gracious, and the wine was truly good. When it comes to wine, I'd rather have a soda than lack luster cheap wine. We loved the wines we served to our guests - Bianco Bello and Piacere, and we are all about the wine! Our menu consisted of: Insalada Mista della Casa~ Romaine iceberg lettuce, tomato, cucumber, balsamic vinaigrette dressing Mozzarella Caprise~ Sliced fresh mozzarella, tomato with black olives, red peppers, extra virgin olive oil and fresh basil Penne Pasta with Marinara Cream Sauce~ Penne pasta in tomato cream sauce Herb Crusted Roasted Chicken~ Chicken breast, lightly breaded with herbs and parmesan cheese, pan seared and baked to perfection Salsiccia e peroni Italia ~ Italian sausage sautéed with garlic, onions, mushrooms and in a white wine sauce Mixed Vegetable Medley~ Zucchini Squash and onions, sautéed in a light butter sauce Dinner was served family style to each table, which we loved, and I must say that Acquaviva's marinara is quite tasty!! Everything was well prepared and delicious. They staffed the event beautifully (plenty of servers), and everyone was courteous and attentive to our every need. We missed the cocktail hour because we remained behind at the church for wedding photos, but the meatballs appetizers, in particular received rave reviews from our guests. The bride and groom stopped off in the vineyard for a few pics - a romantic and uniquely lovely backdrop for wedding photos. We had a great party, fun dancing, tasty food, excellent wine, and a memorable evening that flew by like lightening. Many of our guests raved about the quality of food, the warmth of the staff, and the pace of the meal. We loved Acquaviva's effort and execution, and we strongly recommend Acquaviva for your wedding venue too. Our hat is off to Acquaviva for a job well done! (The R & L wedding from May of 2011) Note: If you choose Acquaviva, make it a large reception, because they must close down the whole restaurant for the day and the cost is the same large or small (with some variation dependent on the menu) if you want an entirely private party. I understand you can reserve a part of the restaurant for smaller receptions though. read more

Beautiful atmosphere, great food, and excellent service! Live music on a Saturday night made for a very pleasant surprise. Very accommodating for large groups or a couple people. Would recommend this restaurant to anyone looking for a quality night, you're in good hands at Acquaviva Winery. read more

Under cooked fish. Slow service. Inside decor beautiful but tables and chairs very cheap and uncomfortable. Over priced and not worth the money. We won't be back. read more

Had a great dinner here over the holidays. Beautiful atmosphere, great service, knowledgeable waitress....They have California wine now which was a big plus for me... Not big on Illinois wine but some people may have fun trying it. dinner was awesome. I'm looking forward to trying it again to determine my final opinion. read more

Ambiance is great and maybe it was time we were there. Ambiance is great, but if you are a dry wine drinker, this is not the greatest option. We came at 5 on Sunday after trying to go to (Sycamore) the other licstions that is closed on Sunday regardless to what their website says. This place isn't very inviting for tasters and felt a bit stand-offish, hard to realize how tastings work, drunk ladies half passed out in the parking lot, and the wine tastes "off". I would skip this place. If you are familiar with central Il wineries, I would say this is on par with Kickapoo winery. read more

Holly our wine tasting guide was SO helpful, knowledgeable, and spot on when it came to presenting the perfect wines for our tasting. My son was in town from California. He and I found the winery in Maple Park beautiful, relaxing, and a fun find. I am not a red wine fan, but Holly S. presented us with just the right one. I purchased 3 varieties for my home. I also sent two bottles to our son in Texas, and two for my son to receive on his arrival home to California. (Shipping was so economical and easy!) Holly MADE our visit memorable and welcoming. read more

Beautiful winery. Enjoyed a couple of bottles here and was very impressed with the quality of wine produced here. Both the red and white wines were on point. Food was incredible. We ordered both the fried and grilled calamari and octopus. The grilled octopus was the largest I've ever eaten...these were huge. Main course of scallops and salmon...both were excellent and jumping with flavor. What's best about this place is the facility. It's beautiful inside and out. Highly recommend for those looking for to enjoy a wonderful dinner and wine. read more

Went here for a birthday dinner. Happened to go on a day when the place was uncomfortably filled with large groups - which made for quite a bit of noise and chaos. We passed the wait at the bar - and, honestly, can't say I was impressed with any of the wines. The whites were watery, the reds were weak. After a 60 minute wait, we were seated for dinner (this was well before the dinner hour on a Saturday). Service was clearly busy - but slow, awkwardly slow. The dinner though delicious was a piece of fish, some vegetables and literally 3 (small - think "baby") potatoes. I don't need a huge plate to be impressed but I would have enjoyed a few more potatoes. 3 stars for the taste & the beautiful venue but overall I felt the service didn't match the experience they are trying to create there. read more

Beautiful winery however we unfortunately had a very poor dining experience at Aquaviva, Maple Park, on Mother's Day! Our party of 12 arrived on time but our table was not ready. It took only a short time for the staff to place 2 round tables adjacent to one another however that's certainly not a preferred seating arrangement. Last year they had a pretty good buffet however they were running out of various items toward the end of the day. This year they offered only a limited menu and NO children's menu (we had 3 young children in our group). We ordered 3 different appetizer's however they were out of the calamari. They offered to substitute shrimp however at an increased cost - we declined. We eventually ordered our dinners and after doing our waitress returned to advise us they were out of the Prime Rib and Cavatelli. Again, we selected other items. We ordered soda (Coke & Sprite) for the kids but they were sold out of those items also. It took nearly 2 hours before our dinner was served and they were marginally warm NOT HOT. When we asked for bread and butter it took about 30 minutes for it to arrive. We asked for more we were told it would be brought to us when we finished the basket they just brought us. All in all folks this was the worst dinner and service I've ever had at a cost typically charged by a fine dining establishment which this is NOT!! **Meals were luke warm at best. **Scallops were rubbery **Lobster Raviolli was nearly cold **Filet and Lamb Chops were very good but not hot **Horrible service - we weren't even asked if we'd like to order desert or coffee **Foul language ("F" word) used by the waitress serving the table adjacent to ours **Charged for items never served including a few cocktails and appetizers. I would not recommend this venue for anything and will not return. read more

One star awarded only because The setting is beautiful. The first time I ate here, it was terrible. They were out of a lot of food, including tomatoes. How does an Italian restaurant run out of tomatoes?!?! The service was terrible - slow, slow, slow. Then today: my friend called two weeks ago to make a reservation for her birthday. She was told they were closed Saturday for a wedding but they were open on Sunday. She made a reservation for 6 pm on Sunday. We pull up and what do we see but a sign that it's closed for a private event. What the...?! My friend went inside to inquire about the mixup and the hostess working was extremely rude and told my friend it was her fault. Needless to say, it will be a cold day in hell before I set foot on this property again. This restaurant needs to get its act together! read more

I was there for a wedding. The food is AMAZING!! So are the wines. Great service. Can't wait to go back. read more

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I love this place! We went on a sunday afternoon. Sat outside. Wow, what a nice lunch that was!! Our server was excellent.

Love this place! Great food, BEAUTIFUL place!!! A real gem. Servers are very nice however they get a little busy at times. Pizzas are just like I had in Italy... Yummmmmmm read more

My husband and I couldn't have picked a place more perfect than Acquaviva to have our reception in October! Often times I felt like I wasn't 'doing enough' to prepare but that's only because Suzanne was so helpful and made planning a breeze! Saying our guests loved the food is an understatement, and everything else was more perfect than we could've imagined. Our wedding was literally the best night of our lives and we're so glad we spent it here! read more